Inowlodz
51°32' / 20°13'
96.1 kilometers SW of Warsaw

A Map (see Tomaszow Mazowiecki)

The synagogue of Inowlodz (1997) before sold and became a mini-market.

Encyclopedia of Jewish
Communities in Poland, Volume I
(Poland)

Translated by Ada Holtzman

Population Figures

Inowlodz was founded in the 11^th century having been granted city status during the 13^th century. The development of the town in the 14^th and 15^th centuries created conditions for the settlement of the Jews in it. The first news about a Jewish settlement in Inowlodz is from 1537. It ceased to exist in the middle half of the 17^th century because of the decline of the town and its destruction during the Swedish-Polish Wars. In the 18^th century, Jews returned and settled again in Inowlodz. In 1764 4 families lived in Inowlodz - innkeepers- who belonged to the community of Ujazd. In 1793 already lived in Inowlodz other artisans, like a barber, a butcher and a tanner. In the beginning of the 19^th century appeared also merchants of petty commerce. In 1858 35 families lived in the small town. By the end of the 19^th century, Inowlodz became famous as a vacation resort and tourists came from Warsaw, Tomaszow Mazowiecki and Lodz. The town kept its character as a resort also during the 20^th century. During the period between the World Wars, beside income from the vacation resort, Jews were also peddlers in the surrounding villages, selling mostly clothing and textile products, bought in Lodz and Tomaszow. Many tailors lived in the town, who sewed clothes to peasants from the neighborhood.

Starting from the 20s of the 19^th century, there was an independent Committee of the Community, who dominated also the Jews of 7 villages (in 1858 - 15 families). Abraham Rosenberg distinguished among the city leaders. He was elected to 10 cadences, during a period of 30 years. Hostel for the poor was founded in the beginning of the 19^th century and a synagogue made of bricks was erected. In 1858 both building were renovated.

In the beginning of the 19^th century, the Jews of Inowlodz could not afford nominate a Rabbi and so only Dayanim [judges] served the community. From the beginning until 1827 served as a Dayan R. Dawid Peperkorn from Biala Rawska, and after his death - R. Szymon Lajb Frumer, a native of Inowlodz. Starting from the 30s and until 1848, the Dayan was R. Abraham Michael Lewi, native of Pinczow. In his last years (he died in 1848), everyone called him "Rabbi". It is possible that the title refers to his official nomination. His successor as the Rabbi of town was R. Josef Jungbach, who served before for 26 years as a Dayan in Opoczno. He was succeeded in 1860 by R. Nachum Rozenblum. In 1908 R. Icchak Meir Kanal served as the Rabbi of the community (he was later the Rabbi of Blaszki and member of the Rabbinical Court in Warsaw). In the years 1910-1920 Rabbi Jecheskel Halsztok served as the Rabbi (later he was appointed as the Rabbi of Nasielsk and the Admor of Ostrowice. The last Rabbi of Inowlodz on the eve of World War II was Rabbi A. I. Gingold.

During the German occupation in W.W.II. 426 Jews lived in Inowlodz - May 1941 - among them 130 Jews who arrived from other places. By June 1941 the number of Jews reached 450, and in November 600 (together with the refugees). In 1942 the number did not change much - in April - 545 (among them 172 refugees). The Jewish community was liquidated in August 1942: 500 Jews deported to ghetto Tomaszow Mazowiecki, and shared the same as the Jews of that Ghetto.

After the War the only remnant of Jewish settlement were the burned walls of the synagogue built in the first half of the 19^th century.

Sources

AGAD (Archiwum Glowne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie): Leczyckie Grodzkie Obl. 127, cards 463-463v.

AP (Archiwum Panstwowe Miasta Krakowa I Wojewodztwa Krakowskiego) Lodz: Anteriora PRG 2520.

A. Feldman, old news about the Jews in Polish Towns in the 15-16 century, in "Bleter fer Geshichte" 1936, z' 63.

Inowlodz, Poland

The Polish Web Site of Inowlodz

Inowlodz Jewish Cemetery

The "cemetery" of Inowlodz: a few scattered fragments of tombstones, most of them already covered by plants and earth, total oblivion...

US Commission No. POCE000662 - IAJGS Scroll to "Inowlodz"

Matzevot Recorded by Benjamin Yaari & Michael Rzeznik 1996

Jewish Genealogy

Inowlodz in JRI - Jewish Records Indexing - Poland

Inowlodz - in JRI - PSA archive

JewishGen Family Finder

The Lost Inowlodz Synagogue

The synagogue served as a public library for many years. It was sold by The Jewish Community of Lodz which claimed it as communal property and now it is a mini-market(...)

Before the renovations, remained on the wall a prayer in Russian and in Hebrew to the welfare of the Russian Czar.

Now only photos of the synagogue remained…

Last updated August 1^st, 2003